In Truth
by Songbird's Desk
Summary: Harry is no longer the same, this is something all of Hogwarts agrees upon. This is proved in the Great Hall after NEWTs. After a three day disappearance, Harry reappears with a little present...


**AN:** Well, here's a little ditty that I've been having as a nightmare for about five weeks now. Trust me, it isn't pleasant waking up from this one. Nuh-uh!

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It was seventh year, and for the first time in History, the students and staff at Hogwarts agreed on one thing. Harry Potter was not the same boy that they'd all come to know over the previous five years.

Harry's green eyes, that were once filled with the many emotions of life, were dead. All that was present was an acceptance. This acceptance confused the students and staff, all but one. Headmaster Dumbledore knew what Harry had accepted, but was still confused as to the absence of all other emotions.

Harry's actions during the year were robotic. He got up of a morning, had toast with strawberry jam for breakfast, went to classes, lost inordinate amount of points in Potions and gained innumerable detentions at the same time, had a ham sandwich for lunch, went to more classes, had Shepard's Pie for dinner, did homework, attended his numerous detentions, which were in fact advanced training to defeat Voldemort, then went to bed after putting up silencing spells. The next morning, the routine would start all over again. On the weekends, he would have the same breakfast of toast and strawberry jam, go to his detentions (more training), have a ham sandwich for lunch, do homework, have more training, have Shepard's Pie for dinner, do homework, then go to bed, after once more putting up silencing spells.

His friends let Harry be. Whether this was because they were too wrapped up in their newly developed relationship, didn't care about their friend, or knew on some deep level that they couldn't do anything for their friend. Of course, the latter two were incorrect. Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger were concentrating so hard on shoving their tongues down one another's throats, that they didn't recognise that their friend was in a bit of a slump.

It was at the end of seventh year, right after the seventh years had taken their NEWTs, that everything regarding Harry Potter changed. It started, as pretty much everything in Hogwarts started, with a disappearance. Harry Potter disappeared the day after the exams, and no one could find him in the Castle, on the grounds, or down in Hogsmede. Four days later, the reason for his disappearance came to light…

The doors to the Great Hall slammed open, and a tall, lean seventeen year old male strode into the Hall. He wore black sleeveless robes that billowed out behind him, and they had several holes and burn marks on them. A tight, long-sleeved black shirt, loose-ish black dragon-hide pants, and blood red dragon-hide boots completed the clothing ensemble. Messy, shoulder-blade length midnight hair was tied back in a ponytail, a silver snake earring dangled from the left ear-lobe, and emerald green eyes glimmered angrily out from midnight bangs, a lightning bolt scar peeking through the strands.

A sigh of relief went through the student and staff body as they realised that their saviour was perfectly safe. It was then that they saw the object the Gryffindor had bought with him.

Hanging from Harry's right hand, was a Hessian sack, it's bottom soaked in a crimson liquid. A trail of the crimson liquid could clearly be seen trailing behind Harry as he strode up to the head table. That was the precise moment in time that the staff and students realised that although their saviour was safe, something was. Just. Not. Right.

"Hello, Headmaster." Harry's voice echoed in the silence of the Great Hall.

Headmaster Dumbledore stood, a relieved and yet worried look on his face. "Harry, my boy-"

"Do not call me that." The snarl cut Dumbledore off. "I have done what I was ordered to do. You no longer have any right over me." As Harry spoke, he brought the sack in front of him, and opened it.

"Harry, I don't-" Yet again, Dumbledore was interrupted. Only this time it wasn't by a snarl. This time it was from a rather snake-like human head landing on his dinner plate and sending blood covered mashed potatoes in all directions, accompanied by peas, corn and other various vegetables. "understand." The Headmaster finished weakly. "Tom?"

Harry grinned maliciously, causing the people who saw it, to shudder in fear. "The one and only. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have things to do." He turned, having dropped the Hessian bag on the floor, and strode towards the doors. He only got a couple of meters away from the head table.

"Harry, how and when did you do this?" Dumbledore gestured to the head, which was still leaking blood on his dinner plate.

Harry sighed, and turned back around to face the aging Headmaster. "I take it you noticed my disappearance four days ago?" Dumbledore nodded. "I left to go to Voldemort's Headquarters. It took four days of fighting, hiding and killing, but I finally got to Voldemort. I beheaded him, while casting a soul destroying curse." Harry shrugged carelessly. "Then I picked his head up, put it in a conjured Hessian sack, and came here. Now I am leaving as my duty is done and no one can demand anything from me again. Especially saving their pathetic, whiny, hateful little arses. Good day." He spun with a rather Snape-like flare of the robes, and strode out.

As soon as Harry had vanished from the Great Hall, the students were stunned out of their stupor by the noise of Professor McGonagall hitting the floor in a faint. McGonagall was soon followed by half of the population of Hogwarts, while the other half ran for the bathrooms.

Harry Potter was not seen again after the incident in the Great Hall. There were many speculations as to what had happened to him, varying from he'd gone to hide in the Muggle World, to the theory that he'd gone to live with the Giants and had married a young Giantess. None-the-less, Harry Potter disappeared from what seemed like the face of the world. In truth, he'd gone to America to breed and raise Puffskeins. Well, that's what I believe, anyway.


End file.
